Manual to CNC Lathe Conversion

Hi All,

I recently purchased a Victor-1640B (16" Swing, 40" Centers, 32-2000-
RPM, 7.5hp) manual lathe. I'm interested in converting this lathe to
CNC very soon. Question is, where do I start? This lathe will be used
primarily for threading, if that makes any difference!

Specifically, I want to know the best method/s of driving the
carriage & cross slide from those who have experience in lathe
conversions. Should I use the lead screw and engage the half nuts for
CNC allowing manual control when desired, or replace it with a ball
screw with a zero backlash double ball-nut? Since the unit will be
CNC, is it even feasible to power the compound slide?

My experience: I own a 72"x72" CNC plasma table which I built a
couple of years ago using Gecko drives, Mach2, ballscrews, and
servomotors. Given that, I prefer to use Gecko drives and Mach2 again
since I haven't experienced any trouble with either and furthermore,
I'm now very familiar with both products.

Thanks in advance for the help,
Eric